ENTERTAINMENT : At Center Stage : Celebrity performers headline opening season of Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza.

Since its groundbreaking nearly three years ago, the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza has been sprouting up, gradually, along the Ventura Freeway at the site formerly occupied by Jungleland.

Images of its 1,800-seat Forum Theater and 400-seat Civic Auditorium have tantalized fans of the performing arts, as the project has churned toward completion under the guidance of renowned design architect Antoine Predock.

Scheduled concert dates by Liza Minnelli, Pinchas Zuckerman, Bernadette Peters, David Copperfield, Tony Bennett, Shirley MacLaine and Bill Cosby, touring productions of “A Chorus Line” and “Annie,” and concerts by the Conejo Symphony Orchestra, the Ventura County Symphony and the Los Robles Master Chorale hint at the dramatic increase in performing arts opportunities in Ventura County and the Conejo Valley.

The $64-million complex-- which includes the relocation of the Government Center-- has not been without its controversies.

Most concerns have dealt with the Arts Plaza’s economic and aesthetic implications. (A proposed 101-foot tower that would have served as a glaring billboard for Ventura Freeway motorists was shot down). Governing power over the Arts Plaza has been debated too.

But now, with just about everything said and done, the curtain is about to rise on the inaugural 1994-1995 season.

The Santa Susana Repertory Company will be the first to perform, with a Forum Theater staging of “Man of La Mancha,” Sept. 16 through Oct. 29. Laine Davies, a company regular, who will play the lead role of Don Quixote, said he and his colleagues are excited about the opportunity afforded by the Arts Plaza.

“The company is champing at the bit,” he said. “To have a facility situated in a community like this geographically and demographically is ideal. I think the most important thing the plaza will do is provide a heartbeat and center for the community.”

Juggler Izzy Tooinsky will be next on the bill (Sept. 24) in a performance sponsored by the Ventura County Children’s Festival, as part of the Arts Plaza’s emphasis on family programming.

“We’ll have about 20 children’s shows,” said Theatres Director Tom Mitze. “When you do children’s programming you want the highest artistic quality because you’re teaching them the value of arts and culture.”

The Arts Plaza will have its official grand opening Oct. 21 at the Civic Auditorium when Tony Award-winning entertainer Bernadette Peters performs pop tunes, and the Conejo Symphony Orchestra under direction of Elmer Ramsey presents “Ode to Joy,” backed by a 200-voice chorus. The concert will be repeated the next night with a black-tie reception.

Award-winning jazz musician Bob Florence and his Limited Edition Band will highlight an Oct. 23 concert showcasing the top performing artists in the greater Conejo Valley region--including the Village Voices Chorale, the Channelaire Chorus of Sweet Adeline International, and classical pianist Sofia Cosma.

Also scheduled Oct. 23 is an outdoor Community Art Exhibit, a Children’s Tile Project dedication ceremony and a Children’s Festival of the Arts craft fair.

Other October events include a concert by pianists Tachell Gerbert and Bradley Gregory (Oct. 9); an evening of classical Armenian music (Oct. 16), a California Lutheran University Children’s Theatre production of “Jungalbook” (Oct. 21-23); an American Family Theater production of “Beauty & the Beast” (Oct. 24); Hal Holbrook in his one-man show “Mark Twain Tonight,” (Oct. 25); Pinchas Zuckerman and the English Chamber Orchestra with the Conejo Symphony Orchestra (Oct. 28); and 11-time Grammy winner Ray Charles in concert (Oct. 30).

WHERE TO GO

What: Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza.

Location: 2120 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd.

Call: (805) 449-ARTS.